SOUTHBURY – Thursday evening will be a full night in room 205A of Town Hall, with both a Public Hearing and a Special Town Meeting scheduled before the Board of Selectmen convenes for its regular meeting.
At 6:30 p.m., the Board of Selectmen will open a public hearing on a proposed ordinance governing snow and ice clearance around fire hydrants. The hearing gives residents the opportunity to comment before the board acts on the measure at the regular meeting.
Following the public hearing, a separate town meeting will take place in the same room and address the reallocation of $183,229 in remaining American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The money was originally earmarked for a splash pad that was never built, and now, some town officials would like to see it used for upgrades to playgrounds at Ballantine Park and Settlers Park. Selectwoman Cathy De Carli is expected to serve as the moderator for the open town meeting, and residents will get to vote directly (by voice or hand count) on whether the transfer of funds proceeds.
The town meeting will also include a resolution to transfer $287,000 from the Unassigned Fund Balance to the Pension Contribution Account.
The Board of Selectmen’s regular meeting will take place shortly after.
Town Meeting: The ARPA Funds Question
How The Money Got Here
The Town of Southbury received $5.79 million in ARPA funds following the COVID-19 pandemic, and a task force was formed to detirmine how the money would be used.
Among the approved ways to spend the one-time, non-recurring funds from Uncle Sam was $346,679 for a combined “splash pad/pickleball” project. Of that amount, $163,450 was spent on pickleball courts at Ballantine Park. The remaining amount has been sitting idle, waiting to be allocated toward its intended purpose or reallocated to something else.
Thursday’s meeting to reallocate ARPA funds won’t be the first time the town has done so.
The town’s ARPA Task Force originally proposed in April 2022 that $1.5 million of the federal funds be used for a commitment to affordable senior housing at Pierce Hollow Village – not for site work or construction, but rather assisting in the application process.
However, in September 2023, the nonprofit behind the initiative, Pierce Hollow Village Inc., was dissolved when the necessary funds for the senior housing project could not be secured. The ARPA Task Force then voted to reallocate the funds toward the purchase of a new Fire Department ladder truck, which entered service in 2025.
Thursday’s open town meeting comes after months of discussion at both Board of Selectmen and Parks and Recreation Commission meetings about the future of a potential splash pad in town.
Where To Put It?
At the Board of Selectmen’s April 16 meeting, Parks and Recreation Director Meghan Lennon was invited to speak to the board about the ongoing process and difficulties of moving the splash pad from concept to reality. First Selectman Tim O’Neil and Selectman Holly Sullivan were not present for the meeting.
While the original ARPA funding predates her time as Director of Parks and Rec, she outlined some of the obstacles with the plan, including logistical and public health concerns.
“We could never solidify a location,” said Lennon, adding that Settlers Park sits above an aquifer and noting existing drainage challenges at Ballantine Park.
In her presentation, she explained that a splash pad would require maintenance and sanitation by the Department of Public Works – a town department that is already short-staffed during the summer. A splash pad would likely only be open for a four-month period of the year, she said, while running the risk of users contracting waterborne illnesses and skin infections associated with recirculated water and hygiene.
In a memo sent to the Board of Selectmen last October, she explained that the playground at Ballantine Park required a costly replacement part and caution tape wrapped around another broken structure.
Despite the splash pad appearing on the Parks and Recreation Commission agenda multiple times over the past year, she says no residents came to advocate for the idea. She received two phone calls on the subject but noted that there had been no formal community outreach campaign in her time as director.
It’s worth noting, however, that a 2023 phone survey was conducted by the Center for Research & Public Policy regarding a town pool at Ballantine Park. The research study was made up of 400 completed survey responses from Southbury property taxpayers, conducted in January 2023.
Respondents were asked how they would rank the importance of some upgraded features related to potential pool upgrades. The survey found that 54.3 percent of survey takers rated a splash pad as important, second only to ADA compliance upgrades (68.5 percent).
The Reallocation Proposal
Lennon’s presentation called for the funds to be rerouted toward inclusive playground upgrades, which she says would reach more residents and would be used more frequently than a splash pad.
“The inclusive playground equipment within the town is really lacking,” said Lennon. “Even in bordering towns, and recent interactions at the spring event have shown the benefits of inclusivity.”
She gives the example of a recent Easter egg hunt held by the town, where a mother of a child in a wheelchair said it was the first time they had been able to participate in it with their friends.
“That’s the kind of reports we want to hear more of,” said Lennon.
The proposal includes the addition of an inclusive merry-go-round and an “expressive swing” at Ballantine Park, designed to benefit neurodivergent children. The two pieces of equipment would be installed on rubber surfacing near the tennis courts and the existing playground, with the poured-in-place rubber serving as an accessibility upgrade on its own compared to the current mulch cover, which can be difficult for strollers or seniors to navigate.
At Settlers Park, a pre-existing concrete slab could be used as the foundation for an outdoor fitness station with equipment suitable for all ages.
“It’s been there for a long time, just sitting there, and that’s a perfect place to put this exercise equipment,” said Lennon.
Questions Raised
At the May 21 Board of Selectmen meeting, the discussion came up again, and questions were posed about the process of the board.
Selectman Holly Sullivan, who had previously asked for cost estimates for a splash pad, asked why all of the remaining ARPA money would need to be reallocated for the playground upgrades.
“I have been on this board for a very long time, and I’ve never been in a position where I’m consistently asking questions like this,” said Sullivan. “If it doesn’t cost this much money, why are we moving this much money and not leaving it reallocated the way ARPA intended. What are we doing here?”
Sullivan’s concern echoed a theme of that same meeting, particularly how the board conducts business procedurally.
“Again, I’m talking about good practice of this Board of Selectmen, and I’m wholly disappointed,” said Sullivan.
Selectman Jason Van Stone called the frustration “understandable”, saying that the board did not arrive at the upcoming open town meeting smoothly or correctly.
Selectwoman Wendy Bernard countered those claims of frustration by calling it “performative.”
“I think that when you are in this sort of process, with a new board, we are doing the work in good faith,” said Bernard. “Can there be errors in the process? Yes, but nothing here is fatal. The board showed its willingness to go back and double check and correct it.”
Bernard continued, “You can make it into a political point, but the bottom line is it is not meant to be disruptive of the process. We are working here in good faith, and I think that counts out as a lot.”
Sullivan, the current longest-tenured member of the board, responded, saying that her concerns about asking for dollar amounts and grant opportunities were not performative.
“I’ve put in my years here,” said Sullivan. “I’ve seen it from when it was talked about as a concept all the way through COVID, through the floods and when it got delayed, so yeah, I have a right to be a little frustrated that I have to ask questions that really should be in our paperwork when it comes to us.”
First Selectman O’Neil said that if not all of the funds are used, it could be “rolled into a splash pad or some unassigned fund.”
With her head in her hand, Sullivan responded, “We got to do better than this.” She was the lone nay vote in advancing the reallocation to the open town meeting.
It still remains to be seen whether the town will potentially fund a splash pad at a future date through a different funding source.
Public Hearing: Fire Hydrant and Snow Ordinance
A public hearing on a proposed ordinance – Section 15.4 – will take place before the open town meeting, intended to address the process of clearing snow and ice from fire hydrants within 24 hours of a winter storm.
The proposed language would require property owners whose premises contain a fire hydrant, dry hydrant, fire suppression tank, or fire department connection to remove snow and ice when it accumulates within five inches of the hydrant’s opening. A three-foot clearance around the hydrant would be required, along with a three-foot-wide access path from the street.
In Southbury, there are 355 fire hydrants and 50 underground water storage tanks, according to the Fire Marshal. While the underground tanks are on easements or property deeded to the town, there are roughly 280 hydrants that are on private property, like Heritage Village, Traditions, and shopping plazas.
Southbury Fire Marshal Derrek Guertin says that notifications will be made to all the affected owners .
The Board of Selectmen briefly spoke about a possible fine amount for violations, with discussion expected to continue at Thursday’s regular meeting. According to the proposed ordinance, unpaid fines not resolved within 30 days, or within 30 days of a final appeal ruling, would become a lien on the property.
Residents wishing to comment on the proposed ordinance should plan to arrive at 6:30 p.m.
By Evan Triantafilidis
The Southbury Record 